CARRICKFERGUS

'Carrickfergus' () is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 27,201 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre for Carrickfergus Borough Council. It is Co. Antrim's oldest town and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king of Dál Riata. It lies about from the ancient village of Straid.

Contents

History

People

Education

Sport

Transport

2001 Census

Town twinning

References

See also

External links

History

Carrickfergus stands on the north shore of Belfast Lough and is home to the 12th century Carrickfergus Castle, one of the best-preserved Norman castles in Ireland. It was built around 1180 by John de Courcy. The church of St. Nicholas also dates from the late 12th century.
The town was formerly an important centre for the textile industry. It now is a centre for leisure sailing, and is home to Carrickfergus Marina and Carrickfergus Sailing Club. The town is inside the Greater Belfast conurbation, being from Belfast City Centre.
As an urban settlement, Carrickfergus predates Belfast and was for a lengthy period both larger and more prominent than the nearby city. Belfast Lough itself was called 'Carrickfergus Bay' well into the 17th century. Carrickfergus and the surrounding area was, for a time, treated as a separate county, although it is today part of County Antrim. In 1637 the town sold its customs rights - which ran from Groomsport in County Down up to Larne in County Antrim - to Belfast and this in part led to its decline in importance as the province of Ulster grew.

People

★ Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States, was born in 1767 in the predominantly Irish-Scots Waxshaws area of South Carolina two years after his parents left Boneybefore, near Carrickfergus. A heritage centre in the village pays tribute to the legacy of 'Old Hickory', the People's President.

★ William Orr, United Irishman was hanged in Carrickfergus on October 14 1797 for his part in the failed rebellion.

★ Louis MacNeice's family moved to the town when the poet was two years old (his father was appointed vicar of St Nicholas), and he left at the age of ten to attend boarding school in England. One of MacNeice's most well-known poems, ''Carrickfergus'' (1937), relates his ambiguous feelings about the town where he spent his early boyhood.

★ ''Neighbours'' actress Jackie Woodburne was born in Carrickfergus in 1957.

★ Robert Adrain, (1775-1843), mathematician, considered one of the best mathematical minds of his time, was born in Carrickfergus^[1]

★ Stuart Robinson host of Northern Ireland's Young Star Search lived in Victoria in Carrickfergus during the 1980s and is also a presenter on Belfast CityBeat. In recent years he has also acquired ownership of Carrick radio station Castle FM and Bangor FM in North Down.

★ Well known local celebrity Billy Bowles resides in Carrickfergus.

★ Citybeat 96.7FM Radio Star Andy Pugh hails from Carrickfergus.

★ Current WWE wrestler Dave Finlay was born and raised in the satellite village of Greenisland.

★ NIDJ was started in Carrickfergus by local Jason Addley.

★ [[1]]

Education

There are many primary and secondary schools in Carrickfergus.

★ Acorn Primary School

★ Carrickfergus Grammar School

★ Carrickfergus Model Primary School

★ Carrickfergus College

★ Downshire School

★ Eden Primary School

★ Oakfield Primary School

★ Sunnylands Primary School

★ St.Nicholas Primary school

★ Ulidia Integrated College

★ Victoria Primary School

★ Woodburn Primary School

★ Woodlawn Primary School

Sport

★ Carrickfergus Rugby Football Club

★ Carrick Rangers

★ Carrickfergus Sailing Club

★ Carrickfergus Golf Club

★ Carrickfergus Cricket Club

★ Carrickfergus Knights American Football Club

Transport

Carrickfergus railway station opened on 1 October 1862.^[2]

2001 Census

Carrickfergus is classified by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)^[3] as a Large Town (ie population between 18,000 and 75,000 people) and within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 27,201 people living in Carrickfergus. Of these:

★ 23.2% were aged under 16 years and 15.9% were aged 60 and over

★ 6% were under 1'3"

★ 48.6% of the population were male and 51.4% were female

★ 7.8% were from a Roman Catholic background and 86.1% were from a Protestant background

★ 3.6% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.
For more details see: Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information^[4]

Town twinning

★ Portsmouth, New Hampshire

References

1. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896, , , , Marquis Who's Who, ,
2. Carrickfergus
3. NI Statistics and Research Agency website.
4. Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information website.


★ Culture Northern Ireland website.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/22/nshot122.xml

See also

★ List of towns in Northern Ireland

★ List of villages in Northern Ireland

★ List of Irish Towns with a Market House

★ The song "Carrickfergus"

External links

★ Carrick's Castle FM

★ Carrickfergus Cricket Club Website

★ Bentra Golf Course

★ The Basement, buy/sell/trade/rent

★ Carrickfergus in Bloom

★ NIDJ Entertainment Site, Started In Carrickfergus

★ Words and music to the folk song "Carrickfergus"

★ Carrickfergus Borough Council

★ St. Nicholas Church, Carrickfergus

★ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/getwritingni/ram/macneice_carrickfergus.ram [Louis MacNeice talks about Carrickfergus] (BBC website, RealAudio file)

★ Carrickfergus Castle

★ Carrickfergus Market House

★ Carrick Rangers Football Club

★ The Short Term Radio Station for Carrickfergus

★ Podcasts from Justin Macartney on Carrickfergus FM Radio